Quiet love story with random subplot

The love story between the lead characters was beautiful. I thought the way it was filmed was interesting. There were lots of close ups, kind of like we were trying to see like the ML was, and then there were scenes that were very quiet, like we were part of the FL's world. They reminded me of magnets, like they were inexplicably drawn together, then never wanted to be parted.

The CEO storyline absolutely did not work for me. It felt like it needed to be part of a different movie. It was too frenetic and slapstick for this peaceful movie. There was a lot of overacting going on as well.

I liked the ending, though I know a lot of people probably thought it was taking the easy way out. Japanese seem to be known for their tragic stories, so it was a relief for me. That said, the ending sequence was somewhat confusing because of the way it actually ended.

I might watch this again in the future because it was calming.

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I liked it better than season 1, but I still had issues with this season

If you are wondering if you should give this show a try, I'd say go for it. Granted, I didn't care for it as much as other people did, but I realize I'm definitely in the minority.

Liked:
1) Dr. Kim was SO MUCH more likeable this season. I didn't care for him at all in season 1.
2) Overall, the acting was better this season. A lot of overacting in season 1. I still didn't care for the acting/character of Im Won Hee as Jang Gi Tae. In everything I've seen him in, he's always too over-the-top.
3) Liked the storyline of Woo Jin and Eun Jae. I liked how they did the flashbacks to them in college. I know this is a medical show and not a romance, but I would have liked to see more of them. It's hard to imagine that much beauty in one place.
4) They spent a little more time with some of the patients in this season, which I appreciated. The more you see a bit of a backstory, the more you can relate. to them and care about them. Case in point, the pregnant woman in the bus accident.
I was glad that they cut down a little bit on the number of times they performed CPR on the patients.
5) Thank you for more screen time for Kim Min Jae. His relationship with Ah Reum was cute, but unnecessary, and pretty unfulfilling.
6) The thugs that owed Eun Jae a favor. They showed a little bit of heart to counteract the over-abundance of bad guys.
7) The writers really developed the Doldam staff's characters, which made me like them and root for them. In this season, I was able to see why they wanted to work there and with each other. I didn't feel the bonding in season 1.
8) Kim Joo Heon as Min Guk - I loved to hate him. Granted, the man seriously needed some therapy, but the actor did a great job of portraying the character's long-standing insecurities and strong at-any-cost ambition (SPOILER - I LOVED that they turned this character around)

Not so much:
1) Oh my gosh, EVERYONE was eavesdropping on everyone else! Someone suggested making a drinking game of it (brilliant idea), but you'd be taking a drink about every five minutes. And what is the point of offices with doors in you can actually hear everything through them? It just made everyone look unprofessional. Add to that the number of people that read stuff on or in other people's desks. Just wow.
2) How many bad guys does one show need!?! The main bad guy returned from season 1, evidently with no repercussions for what he'd done in the past and really, I was never really clear on what his purpose was. He acted like a petulant child that wanted to play with a toy that someone else was playing with. Thankfully, he won't be back in season 3. The lackey that worked for Min Guk, he was just so slimy I had to fast forward through his scenes.
3) Eun Jae's problems with being in surgery - passing out/vomiting. I had multiple problems with this. First, this seemed like a deep-seated thing stemming from the fact that she didn't actually want to go into medicine (I mean, her conversation with her mother, yikes!). Popping anti-anxiety medications like candy right before surgery? No one with any sense of responsibility would do that. She needed to get into some therapy. Then her getting some medication from Dr. Kim and not even caring about what she was taking? She never questioned him about what the pills were. Then, she went around telling everyone she was fine because of the pills that Dr. Kim had given her. This is something that would have gotten them BOTH in trouble. And to have it turn out that she was just taking digestive enzymes? The whole thing was too implausible.
4) Again, bringing people from the main hospital and they only want to do the work they want to do.
5) Do In Bum - he comes back after three years, he still has a locker, and he goes into surgery right away?! He was there to investigate something, not do surgery. I was glad that the antagonism between him and Woo Jin didn't last long, we had enough other people constantly antagonizing others.
6) Doctor Kim still doing surgery. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
7) What was with the Harry Potter Music!?!?!

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I've never seen soccer like it.

Park Seo Joon and IU - their dynamic was fun to watch. He's got a giant chip on his shoulder, and she's got a lot of heart. For the most part, they were like oil and water and that was funny. Thank you, writers, for not trying to bring a romance into this! I felt that the whole cast did a really good job. The rag tag group of soccer players, each with their own heartbreaking story, were brought together for the goal of playing soccer, and in the process, they changed themselves, they changed each other, and they definitely changed the coach.

My problem was with the soccer matches themselves. First, the field in Budapest was tiny, like a kid's soccer field. That necessitated a lot of close shots by the cameras, which I think was supposed to get us to feel like we were in the matches. But the rules of soccer apparently did not apply at all. There was pushing, there was shoving, there was holding onto players, and there were no consequences for any of this. That, do me, diminished the realism of the games.

It was an okay watch for me.

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Glad to have come back and re-visited this show

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this show. So much to like!
1) Teenage to adult frenemies to lovers trope.
2) Business setting
3) Growth of the business team, both personally and professionally
4) Smart FL
5) Protective ML (though clueless in the romance department!)
6) The best 2FL EVER! Thank you for not sending her down the usual road!!
7) Great chemistry between leads, both when arguing and once in a relationship.
8) Fabulous kisses.
9) Happy ending.

My only complaint was in the lack of consequences for the evil people. I found that very unrealistic, and not too smart, from a business standpoint.

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Eight minute episodes? I'm in!

I've hit a wall trying to find a good romance that isn't long and drawn out, with so much filler that all I do is fast forward through most of it. I found this on Prime. 24 episodes of about 8-15 minutes each. I figured I could commit to this, and if it was terrible, not too much of my life was wasted.

I was pleasantly surprised. It's a cute storyline (but uniforms in college, is that a thing?).

Aside from the problems I had with it:
-It contained not one, but two girls that were willing to do anything to get the guy.
-an overbearing father.
-an arranged engagement.
-acting by most of the adults was bad. The way they talked, the way they moved, just not good.
-the male lead, Ma Hao Dong, had one expression, and when he talked, he talked like he had lockjaw.
-a couple of very poorly executed kisses
-typical tropes like only one hotel room, one mattress when they go camping, you know the drill.

There were things that I really liked:
-Liu Nian as Chu Xia (FL) is adorable, I mean seriously! I loved watching her.
-the main couple together was so cute. She's outgoing, he's stoic. He keeps asking his friend and his housekeeper for advice.
-I love when there's a height disparity between the leads. She was so tiny.
-I loved his mother. Rather than what we normally see, here we have a mom wanting what her son wants. She was very sweet and was so caring of both her son and Chu Xia.
-one of the irritating girls that wants the ML redeems herself
-I was able to put my remote down and give the fast forward button a rest
-I found myself smiling, a lot, while watching this

So, if you have a few hours to spare, want to just enjoy yourself and turn off your brain for a while, you might enjoy this.

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Beautiful

This is a beautiful movie about love, what people will do for love, and the power of love. When I watch Japanese movies or dramas, the movies seem too short, and the dramas too long. I wanted more of this movie. The editing and what happened in the movie were just to abrupt. I felt that the important things just got a slight mention and then the story quickly moved on.

The actors were all good. This movie was understated and calm. It was living a daily life of a girl that has to start over every day. Reading the signs posted in her bedroom, reading and writing in her journal every day. I was kind of bothered that she spent most of her time with her phone up in her face, taking pictures or videos, but it made sense to the story.

There's a twist that I didn't see coming. And boy, Japanese filmmakers sure know how to wring the emotions from a person!

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Watch it until after the credits

Satoh Takeru - yup, that's why I watched it. He's intense and, as usual, I enjoyed his performance. The scene where he sent her away was heartbreaking. His hair was too long and you couldn't see his eyes, and it seriously needed to be washed. But, I digress...

This movie is hard for me to rate. It left me feeling dissatisfied, for lack of a better word. Maybe there wasn't enough time to develop the characters more fully (but I don't care enough to watch the Korean version for more story). Part of my problem is that I don't like liars. That part of the story didn't go on for too terribly long. That she was a high school student was a little problematic, but it didn't seem too noticeable.

Everyone just seemed not too terribly likeable. I was bothered by the fact that the ML had money, fame, etc. and walked around like he'd just been given a death sentence. That's the point, I know, but it just irritated me.

Maybe it was my frame of mind when I watched it. If you want to try it, at least you won't be out too much time.

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Action packed

And I mean literally!

First, let's deal with the important stuff. Hyun Bin was MADE for action roles! That still, quiet, buff, piercing eyes guy...quite effective. I couldn't get over how thin his face was and how sharp his jawline was!!

The action was pretty much non-stop and it was very well done. I vacillated between practically jumping out of my chair and covering my eyes. Really good fight scenes and the car chases were excellent, whether they were in a car or chasing a car on foot.

This was my first time seeing anything that Yoo Hae Jin was in, and I loved him as the South Korean cop. Always in trouble and work and at home, he had that run down look about him. He and Hyun Bin were magic together, going from distrust to brother.

I know most people thought the story line with the sister-in-law was funny, but I was just embarrassed for her. Thankfully, that didn't go on too long.

I'm going to need to recover and then watch the second one!

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I would have preferred the series, I think

I haven't watched a lot of Thai movies, let alone one that is a fantasy. This movie seemed to have been made on a very low budget. It seemed to be a much older film, production quality-wise. I struggled with the overacting of most of the side characters, and the bad make-up. I think this is what made me not love the movie.

I will say that the ML and FL were lovely, both in visuals and in their story line. There was such a calm warmth about both of them (I don't know if that makes any sense). They were very sweet together. The story was somewhat confusing to me, but I love the idea of love that transcends time.

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Wow, that last episode hit me!!

I happened upon this show quite by accident. The idol group has been done, but get a bunch of guys together, fill the room with their testosterone, and there will be drama! They were young, immature, foolish, just like every other young man in the world. Add to that the pressure of constant practice, your life basically being an open book, and the demands of fans (whether fair or not) and this was an interesting watch.

I was initially concerned about the age gap, but it was very downplayed, and at the end of the drama, they were both adults.

My rating of this show went up mostly because of the last episode. Up until then I was probably at a 6-7. I have to say that I cried through most of the last episode. The struggles/dreams/separation of 8loom are eerily close to a current K-pop band, so this really affected me. I was moved by the heartfelt conversations by the members to their fans from the stage, as well as the beautiful show of support by the fans. It was very touching.

If romance is your main reason for watching this you will be greatly disappointed, it is by no means the focus. After reading a lot of comments, the ending seems to be open enough to allow for you to decide what happens to the couple. I, in my little romantic heart, believe that they were beginning a relationship.

It's a quick watch and I'm glad it found me.

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Frustration with moments of relief

What I liked:
-decided to give it a try because, for a C-drama, it was short at 24 episodes
-Luo Zhi liked Huainan for years, but quietly. She worked to stay in his world, following him, waiting for him to walk by. It was only slightly stalkerish in my eyes, because he had no clue.
-He actually liked her, not knowing it was her. I liked the attempts he made to find out who she was.
-I loved how they both kept re-visiting the window, the place where they'd actually spoken to one another.
-Watching the main couple, you could get a strong sense of the importance of bravery in relationships. What if she'd been brave and spoken to him years earlier? (This feeling is tempered by the number of things that I didn't like in the drama)
-Luo Zhi's friendship with her roommate BaiLi (BaiLi herself, for me, was another story entirely)
-Ming Rui. He was a good friend.
-The friendships between the male roommates.
-Happy ending for the couple, and happy ending for me that it was over.

However:
-Very poorly edited. The scenes switched randomly very quickly. Two people will be having a conversation, then it quickly moves to a scene of a lake or to a completely different conversation.
-Too many side stories filled with people that I didn't like. The secondary men in the secondary relationships were weak and ended up with women that they didn't love (because they deserved it?) Why couldn't they speak up for what they really wanted?
-BaiLi. Every time we saw her in the first few episodes she was sobbing. She was totally in love with someone, "I'm never getting over him," but then when some random guy shows up and pays her some attention she quickly moves on. Not to mention that the random guy is creepy and a liar, but whatever.
-Acting. I think the problem was more with the writing than the acting, but everyone spent a lot of time wandering around being miserable. I struggled with Luo Zhi and her being in love with Huainan in the earlier episodes, because once he started talking to her, she was mad all the time. What was that about?
-Too many women trying to break other couples up. Multiple women after Huainan, which, to be honest, I just didn't get. He was handsome and nice (not your typical cold ML), but he didn't have that much personality-wise. How many evil women do we need in one drama?
-Dubbing. Some of the secondary men had terrible voices and a number of women sounded the same. And WHY do they insist upon using the woman's voice that is high pitched, shrill and breathy?! With the advancement in AI, they should be able to get voices to sound better in these C-dramas.
-24 episodes and the main couple were together for literally one episode! Shorten the drama, remove all the extra couples, and let us get to truly know the main couple.
-lack of chemistry, mediocre kisses (he was trying harder than she was, that's for sure!). If there are going to be kisses in a drama, have a course called Kissing 101 and teach these actors how to make them look believable.

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Slow, quiet show that makes you think about "fate"

Though I had a couple of problems with this drama (not going to spoil anything, but some of their behaviors/decisions as adults were highly questionable), it was a beautiful watch. I would suggest watching it in a dark room, because the filming is kind of dark. Lovely cinematography. If you are patient and enjoy watching something for the sake of watching, this is right up your alley. Often, it seemed to me, there wasn't much going on, and being the hopeless romantic that I am, I ached for all their years apart.

The acting by the main characters was top-notch. Satoh Takeru had the perfect look for this drama. His face has hard edges that really fit right into this show. I have to say that the actors that played the teens were excellent. I actually felt more invested in them, because we saw more of them than the adults. When the teenage male writes to the female for a time capsule, oh my gosh, it was so beautiful - the way it was filmed, our look into when he first saw her, her reaction to reading his thoughts...all the feels.

The music was beautiful as well.

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Liked it more than I thought I would

TBH, I watched it because I've watched the other versions and I wanted to compare them. This one was better than I thought it would be. I don't watch a lot of shows from Thailand because there is a lot of melodrama and a lot of over-acting, but this surprised me. In the interest of full disclosure - I skipped A LOT because of the bullying. The bullying was excessive and over the top (and I don't think it's ever okay to hit a girl, just saying).

This version was shorter than the Korean version, which was a plus. Some of the storylines were changed/omitted/combined, which I appreciated.

There is a lot of yelling. It seems like everyone yells. I don't particularly care for this. As far as the ML and FL are concerned, she wasn't a pushover (for the most part) and the ML wasn't as bad as in other versions. Honestly, I've never bought her liking the ML in any version, just because he's so toxic. However, this is the first version that I didn't ship the FL with the 2ML. They were better as friends in this version.

ML - his hair wasn't as ridiculous as in other versions (petty, I know, but it really bothered me!), and I did like this actor's take on the way his personality changed because of knowing the FL. He wasn't as high-handed, and I could sense some vulnerability in him.

Story - they took out a few of the overabundance of terrible things that happened to the FL and her family, which was great. Especially in the Korean version, it was one thing after another, just to make the story longer. I liked the way they treated the amnesia segment toward the end because they didn't bring in yet another girl to compete with the FL.

The ML's mom - oh my goodness, she was chilling to watch. I thought she ought to have something happen to her because of all that she put everyone else through, but her scene at the end was touching.

The ML and FL were interesting together. I can't really say they had "chemistry" as we know it, but they certainly had arguing down to a science.

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Just no!

Though season 1 had its issues, this one was just a mess. I, personally, have problems with triangles, especially if they go on for a long time. It's a short show and the leads were hardly together at all. I also struggle when the second female in a triangle is obviously a terrible person, and everyone sees it except the ML. Use your head, not your hormones! Then, when the evil girl is trash talking the FL with a group of people, no one calls her on it, not the FL, not the ML, not even the others sitting at the table. You can see from a mile away that she's bad news!

Thankfully, this was short, or I'd really be ticked off.

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Cute watch, but...

I loved the actors in this. Mori Nana as KiKi was just precious. Though often immature, which was slightly problematic for me if I was supposed to believe her with Asaba, she changed those around her. I liked her energy and how she wasn't the typical J-drama female that kept her head down and apologized for absolutely everything she did. Nakamura Tomoya as Asaba - he needs more romantic ML roles! He's very charismatic, and there were a couple of times where he would suck on his bottom lip slightly...my! Nakano Taiga was just lovely. It helped that, for the most part, I liked his character, but he did serious very well, and he's got good comedic timing. He portrayed Makoto's sweetness, but also his caring that he had for KiKi. I enjoyed watching him.

Which brings me to the problem that I had - the romance part of the story. My biggest complaint - if I'm supposed to believe a romance, part of that is convincing me that you are in love. If you are in love, you don't want to be with anyone else. 1) Asaba's relationship with his past girlfriend bothered me, not only because I didn't buy them as a couple, but they were basically living together. Call me old-fashioned, but one of the things I like about romance (though I know I'm living in a dream world, which is why I like watching these things!) is when the couple hasn't been with others. This one left an especially bad taste in my mouth, because the girlfriend had LITERALLY just broken up with him, and she had to tell him that he liked KiKi. - Get a clue, dude! 2) KiKi - she's pining after Asaba, but then suddenly decides to date Makoto. That, to me, was wishy washy, and unfair to Makoto. She's even ready to pick Makoto before Asaba shows up. 3) Which brings me to Asaba confessing to KiKi when he knows she's in a relationship with Makoto. Asaba and Makoto have been friends for years - not cool! You had your chance and you blew it. 4) Extremely short time for Asaba and KiKi being together - not only once they were actually together, but the lead up. There really wasn't anything to show us them beginning to like one another, not much of a build up. I felt like they ended up together because they were the leads and it was SUPPOSED to happen. I even cheated and watched part of the last episode when I was only halfway through the show, because I had no idea who I was supposed to be rooting for! The scene where Asaba and KiKi are running to one another and he is telling her that they have nothing in common and have no chemistry, was sadly true up to that point.

A couple of other minor points. The "villain" (corporate guy) did everything he did just because he didn't like Asaba - that's not a good businessman and you going back to doing things the way they used to be done (but weren't working) out of spite? Nope! Finally, in Japanese dramas, why is there always at least one person that is completely overacting? The older convenience store worker was too over the top.

So, my bottom line, it's a short, cute watch at 10 episodes, so you don't have to make too much of a time investment. It's enjoyable if you don't want to be too invested in the outcome.

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